


That's Not My Name

by Rina_Calavera



Category: Lego Ninjago
Genre: Angst, Betrayal, Injury, M/M, but there is some violence there ngl, non-graphic descriptions of injury, sog
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-01-03
Updated: 2020-01-03
Packaged: 2021-02-27 06:21:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,991
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22102474
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rina_Calavera/pseuds/Rina_Calavera
Summary: His family was hidden from him.The closest thing he has to blood.It's only natural that he would join them instead.
Relationships: Kai/Zane (Ninjago)
Comments: 4
Kudos: 38





	1. Initiation

“E…what should I do? They are not going to just accept me into the gang.” Zane’s question is met with garbled digital speech. “I do trust you. But you must admit, this will look suspicious.” He stiffened at his brother’s instruction. “Alright.” They enter the bar together.

It takes a moment for his optics to adjust to the low light. The clamor and discord of rowdy shouts and breaking glass is impossible to ignore – everywhere he looked, leather and knives flashed along with bared teeth and narrowed eyes.

“Who is this, Mr. E? A new recruit?” Zane stared with wide eyes at the lilting voice that rang out over the crowd. “Or a new distraction for the newbies?” Harumi, the Jade Princess, saunters down towards him, commanding respect from the raucous gang members around her.

No, not gang members.

Underlings.

“Y-you are the – “

She smiles smugly at him. “The Quiet One, yes.” Her smile splits into a grin as she trails a hand along his chest. “And you’ll never believe what I just heard from a certain heartbroken green ninja.”

Zane scowls. “He is not the cause of this.” Harumi laughs.

“Oh I know.” She turns to the stoic nindroid next to him. “My lovely friend here has told me all about your little blue friend.” Her smile dropped. “But he didn’t mention this. You know our rules, Mr. E.” She grinds out the last two words angrily.

Zane turns to his brother. “Rules? But you said,”

“He can say whatever he wants.” The loud clamor of the bikers around him seems to grow even louder. “But I lead this gang.” Harumi’s eyes grow brighter with each word. “And I decide who’s in or out. And you,” Zane struggles against the hands that suddenly clamp around his arms. “Well.” Harumi shrugs. The hands pull him away.

He loses sight of Mr. E as he’s dragged through the crowd. It’s too loud, even for his voice to reach.

“You still need to go through initiation.”

Zane fights the urge to thrash against the hands that hold him fast through the crowd. He has to stay calm – E wouldn’t bring him here just to turn him into scrap.

Right?

The revving of engines breaks his nervous train of thought. The bikes the Sons of Garmadon were known for – each one a work of art in its own right. Soon the smell of exhaust and the roar of engines is all he can focus on. What were they planning?

He twists around, looking to meet Harumi’s eyes. “What do you mean, initiation?” He snarls.

She only curls her face into another smug smile. “Didn’t Mr. E tell you?” She sticks her lips out in a pout. “You have to prove yourself. We are a biker gang, after all. We can’t have some random droid riding sidecar. No…”

She strides up to him with confident steps. She leans up to murmer in his ear. “You have to prove you can ride.”

Hands shove him towards a motorcycle, jeers and screaming ringing in his ears. A second voice, this one raspy and on edge, rings out over the crowd. “You all know the drill!” He finds the source to be a leather-clad girl covered in paint and scars. “Make it hell.” Her face curls into a wild grin, baring her teeth. She lets out a high-pitched battle cry and flips down to ground level, mounting her own vehicle.

Zane quickly jumps on the bike, revving its engine. Around him, the yells somehow increase in volume along with more engines joining the clamor. Within seconds they’re off, leaving trails of smoke and squealing tires in their wake.

The second they peel onto the city’s highways, there’s havoc around him. They all weave in and out of traffic without care, and it takes everything in him to keep up. Blaring horns and blazing headlights keep him disoriented, and he has no choice but to just follow the biker in front of him.

It rattles every gear in his system when they dive into a subway system. The tracks are rough compared to the paved roads above them, and he’s sure that if he had a heart it would be beating its way out of his chest.

And then a horn blares ahead of him, and a light brighter than even his optic lamps shines in his face.

For an agonizingly long second, Zane thinks this is it. He’s going to die, because his family was hidden from him, and they went darkside, and maybe this will be better than if he had tried to stay with the ninja –

And then the tunnel curves, and he slams on the brakes.

He skids to a halt in front of dozens of leather-clad vultures, teeth bared in aggressive smiles. He’s trying to calm his circuits, fans whirring at top speed. He turns to his right to see E standing next to Harumi, who seems begrudgingly impressed.

She walks up to him and shoves a bundle of leather in his chest. “Well.” She smiles. “The tin man can handle himself.” She turns to the crowd, their former ruckus now quieted in a hush. “We’ve got a new initiate, brothers! Once more, the ninja’s carelessness and arrogance have split a family.”

Boos and jeers echo around the subway tunnel.

“But now!” She grabs his arm, gesturing to E, who steps forward. “Now we’ve brought both brothers into our fold, an elemental master and a master of weaponry and stealth!”

Harumi leans into Zane, muttering into his ear. “This is your chance, Icy. Once I say your name, it’s all over. That’s what they’ll call you til you rust apart.”

He considers her words for a moment. This really could be it. He could leave it all behind - a new look, a new name. A new family.

No.

Echo - E - was his brother.

This was the family he had always had.

“Snake Jaguar. Call me Snake Jaguar.”

She curls her mouth into a smile. “Nice call, Icy.” She thrusts their arms into the air, announcing his new name to the world.

The tunnel erupts in cheers and shouts, and it sweeps Zane - no, Snake now - along with them.


	2. Confrontation

It was certainly…an adjustment. The ninja were a tightly woven unit, having spent years together living in close quarters. As it was, Killow, UV, and E and himself were the only ones living full time at the hideout. Harumi still spent most of her time fooling the ninja, but she found time to check in now again. Update them. Mostly to tease Snake about his old team still looking for him.

“Yeah, it’s kind of pathetic. Jay just mopes around.” she laughs into her drink. “Makes the fights fun to watch. Last week UV got to toss him through a window.”

Snake smirks into his own glass. “That does sound interesting.” He turns to his brother. “Why do you not tell me these things?” They all laugh at the dry garbled tones E spits back.

“Y’know, Snake…” Harumi sets her drink back on the table. “I think you’re ready to step up beyond guard duty.”

He raises his eyebrow. “Do you have something in mind, Quiet One?” That had been an adjustment too. Harumi’s code name wasn’t always enforced in the hideout, but it was best to keep to it. UV was pretty dedicated to that rule.

Harumi hums. “Well, your boys are pretty good at getting into places they shouldn’t.” Snake nods. “And I’m missing my last mask. And I’m tired of waiting.”

Snake grins. “So where do I fit into this little jungle venture?”

Harumi lays out a map. “Well it’s pretty simple, Icy.” She pulls out a torn, smudged note. “See, I find this after their next fight, pleading for them to come find their poor, naive, trusting nindroid - who’s going to be held conveniently right here.”

“And once we have their attention…”

“Lloyd and I will have that mask in no time.” Harumi grins at her metallic subordinates. “A perfect plan.”

Snake rolls his eyes, examining the new detailing on his arm. Harumi’s plan had taken a little longer than expected to enact - luring his old team out to a fight had proven difficult with their obsession with finding him.

A truly annoying folly, to be sure.

At least it gave him time for the new “tattoo” of sorts.

A clamor echoes around him. Finally - showtime!

He lets E place the cuffs on his wrists, heavy vengestone that would weigh even Cole down. “I am quite alright, brother. It is only for a little while.” He watches E bound off to hide himself. “Yes…just a while.”

It’s Kai - of course it’s Kai, nothing can ever be easy - who bursts into the warehouse, a yell on the tip of his tongue. He stops short - they had gone all-out, placing Snake in his old gi and everything - and whoops in excitement.

“Zane!” He speeds over, footprints smoking in his haste. “I can’t believe it, it’s you! It,” he holds Snake’s face between warm hands. “It’s really you.”

Snake hums into his hands. He’d forgotten how warm Kai was…a perfect balance to his own cool. But that didn’t matter now. What mattered was the mission. “Kai,” He asks. “Where are the others? Is it just you?”

Kai shakes his head. “They’re just outside. They’ll be in in a minute. I can’t believe we found you!”

“Call them in, Kai, please. I,” Snake struggles to keep his voice low. “I need to talk to Jay. And Cole could break these cuffs off.”

Kai breaks out of his happy trance for a moment, nodding eagerly. “Right! I’ll be right back, Snowdrop, just you wait!” He’s true to his word, rushing back as quickly as possible, with both of the others in tow.

“I’ve got them! We’ll have you out in just a sec,” Kai stops short. “How did you,”

Snake rubbed his freshly freed wrists, E standing next to him. “Oh, my mistake.” He replied. “I should have mentioned that I had the key with me.”

Kai looks scared. “Zane, what’s this all about?”

Snake scowls. “That,” he steps forward, ice blossoming from his foot. “Is not,” before Cole and Jay can react, he’s frozen their feet fast to the ground. “My name!” He strikes hard and fast, sending Kai flying into the wall.

“Zane please!” Cole calls, shattering the ice around his ankles. He spares a glance behind him - Kai’s slumped against the wall, motionless, but he’s breathing. “What’s going on?”

An icy metal hand curls into the fabric of his gi, pulling him close to Snake’s face. “I told you,” he snarled. “That is not my name.”

Cole landed with a wheeze; rapidly chilling air drove the oxygen from his lungs as he tried to struggle to breathe.

Meanwhile, Jay stared wide-eyed at the nindroid in front of him. “Y-you,” he breathlessly whispered. “You’re,”

Garbled sounds met his dumbfounded stuttering.

“Yes, Jay, he is.” Snake stalked back to him, Cole forgotten. “Although he too has made some changes.” He ignored Jay’s yelp as he yanked him out of the ice. “They say any semblance of control can help ground you in an uncontrollable situation.” He dragged the blue ninja deeper into the cave, leaving E to stand guard over the other two. “Like…destroying one’s own vocal chip, to cope with being abandoned.” Venom dripped from his voice with every word.

Jay thrashed in his grip. “Zane, I’m sorry! I should never have hidden him from you, I was wrong!” Snake ignored his useless pleas. “I was scared, I just wanted to forget any of it ever happened!”

Snake yanked him by his gi to eye level. “Sorry?” he hissed. “You left him to rot.” Jay paled as Snake dangled him over a sudden drop off. “You should hope that I will not be so cruel.”

“Zane, wait, please!”

“Good riddance.”


End file.
